Family is All Relative––Part II
My friend Darla
When you think of “family,” what comes to mind? Mother, father, siblings, grandparents. Aunts, uncles, then cousins. Interesting what some of the synonyms of family are: intimate, household, personal, private. #familyisrelative #friendsascloseasfamily
To me, family can be anyone I’m close to. I have extended close family. A brother, sister-in-law, and great-niece in California, a brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and niece here in Pennsylvania. They’re part of the family. And they have other parts of their family.
But, I have friends, who are closer to me than most of my family is, although this year, that could change. I have, in particular, three friends who live in my area that I call upon when I need prayer.
These women are like sisters to me. We are, in a way, sisters––we are all believers in Jesus Christ, and we pray for each other, and get together occasionally. They are who I turn to.
One of them is Darla, whom I’ve known for 24 years. We’re both transplants to Pennsylvania––she from Arizona, me from Kansas. We’ve been through a lot together, including a time when we were apart––my fault.
We once spent four hours on the phone––when we only lived a few blocks away. Our conversations cover the gamut––we talk about all kinds of things. Both of us are writers. She has an incredible life story to tell, when she can get the time to write it all down.
My husband introduced us, after he’d told me about her. She was a customer at the store where he works. One day, we both happened to be in the store at the same time. I don’t know how long we talked, but we stood there and talked quite a while. That’s when our friendship was born.
L to R: Darla, Robert Fuller, Me
Then, something happened after my mother died. I got offended. She didn’t mean to hurt me, she had something different she needed to do (for the holidays). I wanted to keep things the way they were. For several years, I don’t think we talked much, if at all.
It’s to her credit that our friendship is restored. A woman of great character, she reached out to me back in about 2009, and ever since, we’re pretty close friends again. We went to the Philadelphia Flower Show together (and her husband). But our big time together was in Arizona last year. She was so happy. Arizona is her home, and she loves it. We had a blast, and yet, we shared on a deeper level than we ever had before. We got to meet TV stars, and some great people.
I have to say, she’s a remarkable woman, my friend Darla.
Do you have close friends that are like family? Leave a comment and let me know. #familyisrelative #friendsascloseasfamily
Donna L.H. Smith 